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J. Cruz

Publications and source records attributed to J. Cruz.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2025

Towards a comprehensive study of the 14N(p,g)15O astrophysical key reaction: Description of the experimental technique including novel target preparation

While the 14N(p,g)15O reaction plays a key role in the hydrogen-burning processes in various stellar conditions, its reaction rate is not known with sufficient precision. Therefore, the first scientific project at the recently launched Bellotti Ion Beam Facility of the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso was the measurement of the 14N(p,g)15O reaction cross section in the proton energy range between 250 and 1500 keV. In this paper, the experimental techniques are summarized with special emphasis on the description of solid state nitrogen target production and characterization. The first results of the reaction yield measured at 55 deg detection angle are also presented.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2016

Cross Sections for proton induced high energy $γ$-ray emission (PIGE) in reaction $^{19}$F(p,$αγ$)$^{16}$O at incident proton energies between 1.5 and 4 MeV

We have studied the high energy gamma-rays produced in the reaction $^{19}$F(p,$αγ$)$^{16}$O for incident proton energies from 1.5 to 4.0 MeV over NaF/Ag and CaF$_2$/Ag thin targets in two different sets of data. Gamma-rays were detected with a High Purity Ge detector with an angle of 130$^{o}$ with respect to the beam axis. The cross-sections for the high energy gamma-rays of 6.129, 6.915 and 7.115 MeV have been measured for the whole group between 5 and 7.2 MeV with accuracy better than 10\%. A new energy range was covered and more points are included in the cross-sections data base expanding the existing set of data. Results are in agreement with previous measurements in similar conditions.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2006

First measurement of the 14N(p,gamma)15O cross section down to 70 keV

In stars with temperatures above 20*10^6 K, hydrogen burning is dominated by the CNO cycle. Its rate is determined by the slowest process, the 14N(p,gamma)15O reaction. Deep underground in Italy's Gran Sasso laboratory, at the LUNA 400 kV accelerator, the cross section of this reaction has been measured at energies much lower than ever achieved before. Using a windowless gas target and a 4pi BGO summing detector, direct cross section data has been obtained down to 70 keV, reaching a value of 0.24 picobarn. The Gamow peak has been covered by experimental data for several scenarios of stable and explosive hydrogen burning. In addition, the strength of the 259 keV resonance has been remeasured. The thermonuclear reaction rate has been calculated for temperatures 90 - 300 *10^6 K, for the first time with negligible impact from extrapolations.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2005

S-factor of 14N(p,gamma)15O at astrophysical energies

The astrophysical S-factor of 14N(p,gamma)15O has been measured for effective center-of-mass energies between E_eff = 119 and 367 keV at the LUNA facility using TiN solid targets and Ge detectors. The data are in good agreement with previous and recent work at overlapping energies. R-matrix analysis reveals that due to the complex level structure of 15O the extrapolated S(0) value is model dependent and calls for additional experimental efforts to reduce the present uncertainty in S(0) to a level of a few percent as required by astrophysical calculations.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2005

Feasibility of low energy radiative capture experiments at the LUNA underground accelerator facility

The LUNA (Laboratory Underground for Nuclear Astrophysics) facility has been designed to study nuclear reactions of astrophysical interest. It is located deep underground in the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, Italy. Two electrostatic accelerators, with 50 and 400 kV maximum voltage, in combination with solid and gas target setups allowed to measure the total cross sections of the radiative capture reactions $^2$H(p,$γ$)3He and $^{14}$N(p,$γ$)$^{15}$O within their relevant Gamow peaks. We report on the gamma background in the Gran Sasso laboratory measured by germanium and bismuth germanate detectors, with and without an incident proton beam. A method to localize the sources of beam induced background using the Doppler shift of emitted gamma rays is presented. The feasibility of radiative capture studies at energies of astrophysical interest is discussed for several experimental scenarios.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2004

The bottleneck of the CNO burning and the age of the Globular Clusters

The transition between the Main Sequence and the Red Giant Branch in low mass stars is powered by the onset of the CNO burning, whose bottleneck is the $^{14}$N(p,$γ)^{15}$O. The LUNA collaboration has recently improved the low energy measurements of the cross section of this key reaction. We analyse the impact of the revised reaction rate on the estimate of the Globular Clusters ages, as derived from the turnoff luminosity. We found that the age of the oldest Globulars should be increased by about 0.7-1 Gyr with respect to the current estimates.

astro-ph↗
arXiv1999

Integrable models, degenerate horizons and AdS_2 black holes

The near extremal Reissner-Nordstrom black holes in arbitrary dimensions ca be modeled by the Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) theory. The asymptotic Virasoro symmetry of the corresponding JT model exactly reproduces, via Cardy's formula, the deviation of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the Reissner-Nordstrom black holes from extremality. We also comment how can we extend this approach to investigate the evaporation process.

gr-qc↗
arXiv1999

Integrable models and degenerate horizons in two-dimensional gravity

We analyse an integrable model of two-dimensional gravity which can be reduced to a pair of Liouville fields in conformal gauge. Its general solution represents a pair of ``mirror'' black holes with the same temperature. The ground state is a degenerate constant dilaton configuration similar to the Nariai solution of the Schwarzschild-de Sitter case. The existence of $ϕ=const.$ solutions and their relation with the solution given by the 2D Birkhoff's theorem is then investigated in a more general context. We also point out some interesting features of the semiclassical theory of our model and the similarity with the behaviour of AdS$_2$ black holes.

hep-th↗
arXiv1999

Can conformal Transformations change the fate of 2D black holes?

By using a classical Liouville-type model of two dimensional dilaton gravity we show that the one-loop theory implies that the fate of a black hole depends on the conformal frame. There is one frame for which the evaporation process never stops and another one leading to a complete disappearance of the black hole. This can be seen as a consequence of the fact that thermodynamic variables are not conformally invariant. In the second case the evaporation always produces the same static and regular end-point geometry, irrespective of the initial state.

hep-th↗
arXiv1998

Free Field Realization of Cylindrically Symmetric Einstein Gravity

Cylindrically reduced Einstein gravity can be regarded as an $SL(2,R)/SO(2)$ sigma model coupled to 2D dilaton gravity. By using the corresponding 2D diffeomorphism algebra of constraints and the asymptotic behaviour of the Ernst equation we show that the theory can be mapped by a canonical transformation into a set of free fields with a Minkowskian target space. We briefly discuss the quantization in terms of these free-field variables, which is considerably simpler than in the other approaches.

gr-qc↗
arXiv1997

General Covariance and Free Fields in Two Dimensions

We investigate the canonical equivalence of a matter-coupled 2D dilaton gravity theory defined by the action functional $S = \int d^2x \sqrt{-g} (Rϕ+ V(ϕ) - 1/2 H(ϕ) (\nablaf)^2)$, and a free field theory. When the scalar field $f$ is minimally coupled to the metric field$(H(ϕ)=1)$ the theory is equivalent, up to a boundary contribution,to a theory of three free scalar fields with indefinite kinetic terms, irrespective of the particular form of the potential $V(ϕ)$. If the potential is an exponential function of the dilaton one recovers a generalized form of the classical canonical transformation of Liouville theory. When $f$ is a dilaton coupled scalar $(H(ϕ)=ϕ)$ and the potential is an arbitrary power of the dilaton the theory is also canonically equivalent to a theory of three free fields with a Minkowskian target space. In the simplest case $(V(ϕ)=0)$ we provide an explicit free field realization of the Einstein-Rosen midisuperspace. The Virasoro anomaly and the consistence of the Dirac operator quantization play a central role in our approach.

hep-th↗
arXiv1997

Conformal and Nonconformal Symmetries in 2d Dilaton gravity

We study finite-dimensional extra symmetries of generic 2D dilaton gravity models. Using a non-linear sigma model formulation we show that the unique theories admitting an extra (conformal) symmetry are the models with an exponential potential $V \propto e^{βϕ}$ ($ S ={1\over2π} \int d^2 x \sqrt{-g} [ R ϕ+ 4 λ^2 e^{βϕ} ]$), which include the CGHS model as a particular though limiting ($β=0$) case. These models give rise to black hole solutions with a mass-dependent temperature. The underlying extra symmetry can be maintained in a natural way in the one-loop effective action, thus implying the exact solubility of the semiclassical theory including back-reaction. Moreover, we also introduce three different classes of (non-conformal) transformations which are extra symmetries for generic 2D dilaton gravity models. Special linear combinations of these transformations turn out to be the (conformal) symmetries of the CGHS and $V \propto e^{βϕ}$ models. We show that one of the non-conformal extra symmetries can be converted into a conformal one by means of adequate field redefinitions involving the metric and the derivatives of the dilaton. Finally, by expressing the Polyakov-Liouville effective action in terms of an invariant metric, we are able to provide semiclassical models which are also invariant. This generalizes the solvable semiclassical model of Bose, Parker and Peleg (BPP) for a generic 2D dilaton gravity model.

hep-th↗
arXiv1997

Symmetries and solvable models for evaporating 2D black holes

We study the evaporation process of a 2D black hole in thermal equilibrium when the ingoing radiation is switched off suddenly. We also introduce global symmetries of generic 2D dilaton gravity models which generalize the extra symmetry of the CGHS model.

gr-qc↗
arXiv1997

Free fields via canonical transformations of matter-coupled 2D dilaton gravity models

It is shown that the 1+1-dimensional matter-coupled Jackiw-Teitelboim model and the model with an exponential potential can be converted by means of appropriate canonical transformations into a bosonic string theory propagating on a flat target space with an indefinite signature. This makes it possible to consistently quantize these models in the functional Schroedinger representation thus generalizing recent results on CGHS theory.

hep-th↗